When trees are harvested for use in pulp mills and the like, it is common practice to cut the tree down, remove the limbs from the trees, and then cut the trees into 8 ft. lengths for transport to pulp mills.
One of the common machines for removing limbs from felled trees is called a "fail delimber". When using the flail delimber, the cut trees are laid on the ground in generally parallel side-by-side relation. The flail delimber is driven over the trees in the direction of the lengths of the trees and it includes a number of heavy chains attached to a rotating shaft. When the shaft is rotatably driven, the chains rotate with the shaft at high speed. When the flail delimber is driven over the trees and along their length, the chains will strike the limbs and tear them away from the tree trunks.
One of the drawbacks of this arrangement is that limbs and branches being struck by the chains are thrown substantial distances and the logging area is left strewn with the waste forest products which are then difficult to collect or reclaim.
While in the past, little emphasis has been placed on reclaiming the waste forestry products, the increase in the costs of fuel and of wood products necessitate a more efficient means be found for reclaiming wood products. One of these needs is for an efficient, low cost means for removing limbs from trees while also permitting convenient recovery of the limbs which are cut from the trees such that this material can be used as fuel or as wood chips.
Another potential disadvantage of flail delimbers is that the branches and limbs which are thrown by the flailing chains may be dangerous to workers in the area. It is also possible for chains to break away from the driven shaft and to be thrown substantial distances.
The use of a flail delimber is also time consuming in that it requires the cut trees to be laid on the ground in parallel relation so that a flail delimber can be driven over them, and then the trees must be moved to a slashing machine where they are cut into lengths.
Referring to other types of machines for delimbing trees, attention is directed to the delimbing apparatus shown in the Neal et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,972,357; the Mellgren U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,756; the Larson U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,311; and the Groves U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,638.
Attention is also directed to the Cote U.S. Pat. No. 3,576,203; the Zehavi et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,518; and the Bronemo U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,331.
Attention is further directed to the following Russian patents which relate to various arrangements for removing limbs from trees: 0609622, dated June, 1978; 0627969, dated August, 1978; 0605713, dated May, 1978; 0596439, dated March 1978; 0605712, dated May, 1978, 0576216, dated October, 1977; and 0627968, dated August, 1978.